Party to take 'mafia raj' of SP, BSP to voters

Devesh Kumar, ET BureauJan 3, 2009, 03.21am IST

NEW DELHI: "You've already seen the Samajwadi Party's mafia raj and extortionism in Uttar Pradesh. You're now seeing the BSP's mafia raj and extortionism. Vote for an alternative political culture." This is likely to be the BJP's battle-cry for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in a state which holds the key to the next occupant of 7, Race Course Road.

The BSP was voted to power in UP in May, 2007 on its promise to rid the state of the reign of terror and mafia let loose during the Mulayam Singh Yadav government. In the BJP's assessment, the first year-and-a-half of Ms Mayawati's rule in the state, unfortunately, has merely followed the foot-steps of the previous Samajwadi Party government.

The track-record of the two governments on the law and order and corruption fronts will form the main electoral plank of the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"One set of governance, which placed a premium on mafia rule and extortionism, has merely been replaced by another in the state. We'll seek to provide an alternative political culture, with an emphasis on clean and honest governance,'' said BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, who has been tasked with preparing the saffron party's recovery roadmap in the politically crucial state.

Despite having remained at the helm for only one-and-a-half years, the Mayawati dispensation, according to the BJP, was already confronted with a severe popular backlash because of its perceived failure to rein in mafia elements and extortionists. "On the contrary, there was a growing feeling that they had the backing and blessings of the ruling party," another senior leader from the state argued.

The gruesome murder of PWD executive engineer M K Gupta by the goons of Auraiya BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari, only because he refused to fund Ms Mayawati's birthday bash on January 15, was a clear manifestation of the goonda-raj prevailing in the state.

The Samajwadi Party, the BJP leader argued, would not end up as the principal beneficiary of this backlash as the people still hadn't forgotten the legacy of the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime. "The SP lost miserably in 2007 because the people had come to associate its government with mafia dons and other unscrupulous elements," the BJP leader said.

"You've tried the two parties. You should now give us a chance" — that is what seems to be the BJP's message to the people in the state. With as many as 80 seats up for grab, winning the maximum number of seats from UP has become crucial in the BJP's scheme of things.

In the 2004 general election, the BJP, with only 10 seats in its kitty from the state, was pushed to a distant third, with the Samajwadi Party and the BSP emerging as the chief contenders.